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Fifth Freedom, 1981-05-01

Fifth Freedom, 1981-05-01

THE FIFTH FREEDOM A PUBLICATION FOR THE BUFFALO GAY COMMUNITY MAY 1981 FREE "The Freedom to love whomever and however we want" GAY PRIDE WEEK PLANS AFLOAT Buffalo boats to mark start, end, of month-long Gayfest Gay Pride Week events in Buffalo will be a month-long celebration with a series of special events that will start on a boat and end on a ship. The Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier is helping coordinate events for the week, and is calling on other groups in the Buffalo gay community to join with them in the planning."Although we're starting two months in advance, we've been very encouraged by the response we have received so far," said John Faulring, president of Mattachine. He said Mattachine is planning a series of events and inviting other groups to schedule activities at adjacent times. "We hope that by working together we can avoid conflicts in the schedule and give everyone a variety of things to do," he added. Mattachine sponosred events now being planned include a cruise on the Miss Buffalo sightseeing boat, participation in the Channel 17 auction fund-raiser, a Sunday morning brunch, roller skating party, a wine and cheese tasting event, an anti-violence seminar, a health fair, and a picnic. The climax to all the Gay Pride events will occur with fireworks on the Fourth of July, as Mattachine sponsors a gay dance on the deck of the USS Little Rock in the Buffalo Naval and Serviceman's Park. Mattachine sponsored events will be held primarily during the week of June 21. The city's lesbian and women's groups are also planning a series of events, still to be announced, which will tentatively begin one week earlier. Gay Professionals, Dignity, and other gay groups have also been invited to sponsor Gay Pride events, details to be announced. The gay community will be making a mark on television starting June 5 when Mattachine members help in the "Great Channel 17 Auction" fund raiser by answering telephones. Ken Matthews, Mattachine treasurer and chairman of the group's Social Planning Committee, came up with the idea and approached the public TV station. "Channel 17 has been carrying a lot of shows with a positive attitude on the gay lifestyle, and I felt helping in their fund raising would be a way of showing our appreciation," he said. "The response was fantastic. They were overwhelmed that we were willing to help, and hope we'll help them in future projects. It's a case of them standing behind us and we're standing behind them." Mattachine members will be manning the Channel 17 auction phones on June 5 from 8 p.m. to 1 d.m. and on June 8 from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. Gay Pride events will officially start on June 11 with a cruise on the Miss Buffalo sightseeing boat. The boat trip begins at 8 p.m., with tickets priced at $5 for Mattachine members and $6 for non-members. "Gay Professionals sponsored this event last year, and everyone who went really enjoyed it a lot," said Faulring. "This year's cruise will be basically the same." On June 21, Mattachine will sponsor a Sunday morning brunch for the gay community, place to -be announced, followed by a special showing of a gay-theme movie in cooperation with the Granada Theater. On Monday, June 22, Mattachine plans a gay roller skating party at Skate Haven, 1830 Abbott Road in Lackawanna. At press time, plans were still being firmed up for a wine and cheese tasting party, an anti-violence seminar, and an afternoon bus tour of sites of interest around the city. Scheduled for Saturday, June 27 is a health fair, being put together by the Health Committee of Mattachine. "We think this is a very important part of the Gay Pride week events we Villa's Dennis has found formula for bar success ByRODHENSEL (Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of FIFTH FREEDOM articles featuring the Buffalo gay community's bars). What is the secret to running a successful gay bar in Buffalo? The search for an answer will inevitably lead one to Dennis Kulczyk, the 38-year-old owner of the Villa Capri, 926 Main St. Because Dennis has been in the bar business "all my life," and the secret to his success seems to be in simply being there. "I'm here six days a week. I never take a vacation," says Dennis. "I've been around so long younger kids know mc as well as the older ones. I try to say hello to everybody, and I think that helps." That "personal touch" Dennis gives must be part of the formula for success. For while the crowds come and go at other bars, the Villa consistently attracts people from all segments of the gay community. In its present location since November 1977 (it was previously located across the street), the Villa Capri has operated as a gay bar for over 15 years. And Dennis himself has been associated with a number of gay bars from Buffalo's past and present, including Dominique's, the Hibachi Room, and the first bar he ran himself - Denny's Place. "Years ago," he remembers, "you couldn't dance in a bar or anything like that." He says at one Buffalo establishment, the owner would.stand guard outside a backroom while two or three gay couples would dance together in a tiny backroom. When he first opened Denny's Place at William and Townsend, it became the first gay bar in Buffalo to openly allow dancing. But local officials fought the bar opening from the very beginning, and Dennis at one point was forced to go "over their heads" to state authorities to get his liquor license. "Denny's Place" lasted as a gay bar for only one year. At that time local officials pulled his liquor license for "allowing delinquents to congregate" leaving Dennis with a mountain of bills he is only now paying off. "I had no money to fight it then (in court)," he says, "now, they couldn't do that to mc. The kids today who come here to the Villa don't realize that ten years ago, they couldn't do what they do now." There is perhaps no better illustration of how times have changed than the way local officials responded last month to the Villa's problem of mugging and harassment from prostitutes in the Main-Allen section. Local gays were being robbed near his establishment, and it not only concerned Dennis, but also David, his lover of 11 years who also works as a bartender at the Villa. "David really went to work on it," says Dennis, "he called everybody to complain."David's protestations caught the ear of the Courier-Express, which did a major story on the problem of violence at the Main-Allen intersection. The article included interviews with the Villa staff (although there were no references to it being a gay establishment). Dennis says that the very day the article came out, the Buffalo policeDennis, owner of the Villa Capri, has found the secret to running a successful gay far in Buffalo. MacArthur out; Mean Alice's makes changes A gay bar in Buffalo is no lorigei gay, and another gay establishment is making radical changes in its format. Mac Arthur Park, which opened as a gay bar last October, is no longer catering to the gay community, according to informed sources. Management of the Elmwood Avenue establishment now hopes to attract a largely black and straight clientele. Meanwhile Mean Alice's on Main Street is planning changes in its operation, according to owner John Little. The changes include cutting away the wall between the dance floor and bar area, and the inclusion of live music on weekends. The new name of the establishment is City Lights. Little said however that he plans to bring live music to the bar with the booking of a number of different groups. Although a variety of music types will be tried, the emphasis is expected to be on New Wave music. Mean Alice's built its reputation primarily as a gay disco bar. But Little said that economics has forced him to re-evaluate current trends, and thus the decision was made to make major changes. But is Mean Alice's going straight? Little was evasive when contacted by THE FIFTH FREEDOM. He did point out though that many local gays are into Punk and New Wave music, and said he hopes the gay community will come the changes he has planned. "We're just going to play it by ear," he said. Continued on page 7 Continued on page 9

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Transcript

THE FIFTH FREEDOM A PUBLICATION FOR THE BUFFALO GAY COMMUNITY MAY 1981 FREE "The Freedom to love whomever and however we want" GAY PRIDE WEEK PLANS AFLOAT Buffalo boats to mark start, end, of month-long Gayfest Gay Pride Week events in Buffalo will be a month-long celebration with a series of special events that will start on a boat and end on a ship. The Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier is helping coordinate events for the week, and is calling on other groups in the Buffalo gay community to join with them in the planning."Although we're starting two months in advance, we've been very encouraged by the response we have received so far," said John Faulring, president of Mattachine. He said Mattachine is planning a series of events and inviting other groups to schedule activities at adjacent times. "We hope that by working together we can avoid conflicts in the schedule and give everyone a variety of things to do," he added. Mattachine sponosred events now being planned include a cruise on the Miss Buffalo sightseeing boat, participation in the Channel 17 auction fund-raiser, a Sunday morning brunch, roller skating party, a wine and cheese tasting event, an anti-violence seminar, a health fair, and a picnic. The climax to all the Gay Pride events will occur with fireworks on the Fourth of July, as Mattachine sponsors a gay dance on the deck of the USS Little Rock in the Buffalo Naval and Serviceman's Park. Mattachine sponsored events will be held primarily during the week of June 21. The city's lesbian and women's groups are also planning a series of events, still to be announced, which will tentatively begin one week earlier. Gay Professionals, Dignity, and other gay groups have also been invited to sponsor Gay Pride events, details to be announced. The gay community will be making a mark on television starting June 5 when Mattachine members help in the "Great Channel 17 Auction" fund raiser by answering telephones. Ken Matthews, Mattachine treasurer and chairman of the group's Social Planning Committee, came up with the idea and approached the public TV station. "Channel 17 has been carrying a lot of shows with a positive attitude on the gay lifestyle, and I felt helping in their fund raising would be a way of showing our appreciation," he said. "The response was fantastic. They were overwhelmed that we were willing to help, and hope we'll help them in future projects. It's a case of them standing behind us and we're standing behind them." Mattachine members will be manning the Channel 17 auction phones on June 5 from 8 p.m. to 1 d.m. and on June 8 from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. Gay Pride events will officially start on June 11 with a cruise on the Miss Buffalo sightseeing boat. The boat trip begins at 8 p.m., with tickets priced at $5 for Mattachine members and $6 for non-members. "Gay Professionals sponsored this event last year, and everyone who went really enjoyed it a lot," said Faulring. "This year's cruise will be basically the same." On June 21, Mattachine will sponsor a Sunday morning brunch for the gay community, place to -be announced, followed by a special showing of a gay-theme movie in cooperation with the Granada Theater. On Monday, June 22, Mattachine plans a gay roller skating party at Skate Haven, 1830 Abbott Road in Lackawanna. At press time, plans were still being firmed up for a wine and cheese tasting party, an anti-violence seminar, and an afternoon bus tour of sites of interest around the city. Scheduled for Saturday, June 27 is a health fair, being put together by the Health Committee of Mattachine. "We think this is a very important part of the Gay Pride week events we Villa's Dennis has found formula for bar success ByRODHENSEL (Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of FIFTH FREEDOM articles featuring the Buffalo gay community's bars). What is the secret to running a successful gay bar in Buffalo? The search for an answer will inevitably lead one to Dennis Kulczyk, the 38-year-old owner of the Villa Capri, 926 Main St. Because Dennis has been in the bar business "all my life," and the secret to his success seems to be in simply being there. "I'm here six days a week. I never take a vacation," says Dennis. "I've been around so long younger kids know mc as well as the older ones. I try to say hello to everybody, and I think that helps." That "personal touch" Dennis gives must be part of the formula for success. For while the crowds come and go at other bars, the Villa consistently attracts people from all segments of the gay community. In its present location since November 1977 (it was previously located across the street), the Villa Capri has operated as a gay bar for over 15 years. And Dennis himself has been associated with a number of gay bars from Buffalo's past and present, including Dominique's, the Hibachi Room, and the first bar he ran himself - Denny's Place. "Years ago," he remembers, "you couldn't dance in a bar or anything like that." He says at one Buffalo establishment, the owner would.stand guard outside a backroom while two or three gay couples would dance together in a tiny backroom. When he first opened Denny's Place at William and Townsend, it became the first gay bar in Buffalo to openly allow dancing. But local officials fought the bar opening from the very beginning, and Dennis at one point was forced to go "over their heads" to state authorities to get his liquor license. "Denny's Place" lasted as a gay bar for only one year. At that time local officials pulled his liquor license for "allowing delinquents to congregate" leaving Dennis with a mountain of bills he is only now paying off. "I had no money to fight it then (in court)," he says, "now, they couldn't do that to mc. The kids today who come here to the Villa don't realize that ten years ago, they couldn't do what they do now." There is perhaps no better illustration of how times have changed than the way local officials responded last month to the Villa's problem of mugging and harassment from prostitutes in the Main-Allen section. Local gays were being robbed near his establishment, and it not only concerned Dennis, but also David, his lover of 11 years who also works as a bartender at the Villa. "David really went to work on it," says Dennis, "he called everybody to complain."David's protestations caught the ear of the Courier-Express, which did a major story on the problem of violence at the Main-Allen intersection. The article included interviews with the Villa staff (although there were no references to it being a gay establishment). Dennis says that the very day the article came out, the Buffalo policeDennis, owner of the Villa Capri, has found the secret to running a successful gay far in Buffalo. MacArthur out; Mean Alice's makes changes A gay bar in Buffalo is no lorigei gay, and another gay establishment is making radical changes in its format. Mac Arthur Park, which opened as a gay bar last October, is no longer catering to the gay community, according to informed sources. Management of the Elmwood Avenue establishment now hopes to attract a largely black and straight clientele. Meanwhile Mean Alice's on Main Street is planning changes in its operation, according to owner John Little. The changes include cutting away the wall between the dance floor and bar area, and the inclusion of live music on weekends. The new name of the establishment is City Lights. Little said however that he plans to bring live music to the bar with the booking of a number of different groups. Although a variety of music types will be tried, the emphasis is expected to be on New Wave music. Mean Alice's built its reputation primarily as a gay disco bar. But Little said that economics has forced him to re-evaluate current trends, and thus the decision was made to make major changes. But is Mean Alice's going straight? Little was evasive when contacted by THE FIFTH FREEDOM. He did point out though that many local gays are into Punk and New Wave music, and said he hopes the gay community will come the changes he has planned. "We're just going to play it by ear," he said. Continued on page 7 Continued on page 9